Apparatus for treating snap-bolls.



J, A. SHIELDS.

APPARATUS FOR TREATING SNAP BULLS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 16 1910.

Patented June 6, 1911.

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APPARATUS FOR TREATING SNAP BOLLS.

.APPLIUATIDN FILED MAR 15, 1910.

Patented June 6, 1911.

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Wm, (/ZM) WW Gite onus J. A. SHIELDS."

APPARATUS FOR TREATING SNAP BOLLS.

APPLIOATIOH FILED MAR 15. 1910.

Patented June 6, 1911.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3 J. A. SHIELDS.

APPARATUS FOR TREATING SNAP BOLLS.

' APPLICATION FILED 111111.15, 1910.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4:.

fitter/mew Patented June 6, 1911 of Georgia, have invented certain new'and will enable others skilled in the art to which formed, is

2.0 exposed but clingingto the husk, froml before or just at the time whenthe are besna' bells, and up to the present time? count of frost, this loss sometimes amount- 1 0 ton fiber, which is almost as good as if the this'has been touched and paralyzed by the.

5 rolling operation to break the husk, a clean JAMES A. SHIELDS, OF ATLANTA, GEORGIA.

APPARATUS FOR TREATING 'SNAP-BOLLS.

"oases.

Specification of Letters Patent. Application filedMarch 15, 1910. Serial No. 549,422.

Patented 5111106, 1911.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMEs A. SHIELDS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Atlanta, in the county of Fulton and State useful Improvements inv Apparatus for; Treating Snap-Bells; and I do hereby de-f clare the following to-be a full, clear, and. exact description of the invention, such asE it appertains to make and use the same.

My invent-ion relates to improyements inf treating snap bolls.' 1 In cotton fgrowing, the boll, as .it is first? led with a 'fine [pulp which, afterward, as the boll ripens, changes intoi the cotton fiber, clinging to the seeds. Fi-

nally, after the boll has been thoroughly? matured, it splits open, leaving the cotton? whence it is readily removed by the pickers. The bolls, however, become fully matured, some little time, as a week or so, before they crack open, and if the frost strikes the bollsg ginning to crack, it para'lyzes, an stiifens, the outer casing or husk of the bolls, so that 5 they will not open and give up the'fiber. Such frost bitten bolls are commonly called have con an entire loss. In some localities, such as Oklahoma, North Texas, and -Ar-; kansas, it often happens that a very large: proportion of the cotton crop is lost on aci ing to about a third of the entire crop. Up 5 to the present time, these snap bolls have "been considered valueless. Notwithstandingf this, however, they are full of mature cot boll had opened entirely. In these snap? bolls, the fiber and seed have reached such a stage of maturity that the will attempt to break open the husk of aid], but when frost, the are unable to break it, and although *hese bolls contain a considerable amount of fairly good cotton, they have hitherto become worthless. I

The object of my. invention is to produce an apparatus by which these hitherto worthless snap bolls can be treated for the purpose of recovering the cotton therefrom. These bolls must go through a breaking or for treating snap bolls.

ing. operation to separate the lighter trash therefrom, another cleaning operation to separate the husk from the seed cotton, and then another cleaning process in case any of the trash is left clinging to the cotton. The seed cotton is then fed to a gin of any approved or standard type. I

With the objects stated in view, my invention consists in the construction and combinations of parts as hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawingFigure 1 is a vertical cross-section of. an apparatus Fig. 2 is aside View thereof. Fig. 3 is a side View taken from the opposite side, and Fig. 4 is acrosssection of a modified form of theapparatus for rolling the bolls to break the'husk.

The apparatus for rolling the bolls to break the husk is shown at,the upper "part of Fig. 1, and a modification thereof is shown in Fig. 4. It consists .of a. casing 1, provided with a hopper-shaped opening 2, above which is mounted a hopper 3, provided with a toothed feed roller 4 and a spiked roller 5 for feeding the bolls into the breaker or roller. In the bottom of the casing 1 are journaled two shafts, on which is mounted a sprocket wheel 6 and a roller 7, over which passes an endless apron 8. This is preferably made of blocks of -wood 9 or of wood veneered with iron, attached to the links of a sprocket chain. These blocks of Wood arenot exactly rectangular,

but are beveled off so as to leave tapered openings 9 between them. Above this apron 1s another-endless apron 10, similarly I made, carried on a sprocket Wheel 11 and roller 12. The endless apron 10 travels in the opposite direction from the endless apron 8, as shown in Fig. l, the object'bein to roll the bolls over as they are carrie along by the apron 8, thereby breaking the outer husk, but not crushing it. too fine, as this would make it more diflicult to sepg arate the trash from the seed cotton. The

roller 7 is mounted in adjustable bearings 13, and the roller 12 is mounted in adjust.- able bearings 14: for the purpose of taking up any slack in the aprons. The sprocket wheel 11 is mounted in a bearing 17, which,

is adjustableby means .of a lever 16 upwardly or downwardly, to bring one end of the apron 10 nearer to or farther from the apron 8. The lever 16 is pivoted on a n carried in a late 15 on the frame, an 18 held in its ad iusted position by meansjof a screw 18, passing into the casing and working through a slot in the lever 16. This adjustment is necessary, as the size of the snap bolls varies considerably in different parts of the country.

Within the a ron -8 is mounted a casing 19, having rub er flaps 20, fitting closely against the under side of the apron 8. To this casing is connected :1 pipe 21, which in turn is connected to a suction fan 21., and by this means the fine dust and trash that is caused drawn in between the blocks of the. apron 8 and out of the machine. 7

a The breaker or roller is driven'by the following means: The shaft 22 -of -the sprocket wheel 6 is the main driving shaft, and over a pulley thereon runs a belt 23, connected to any suitable source of power. On the other end of the shaft 22 is mounted a sprocket wheel 24, and onthe shaft 25 of the sprocket wheel 11 is mounted, outside of the casing, a large sprocket wheel 26, operated by the wheel 24 by means of a chain. On the shaft 27 'of the roller 12 is mounted a disk 28, having on it a pin, which engages the end of an operating arm 30, which in turn is adjustably connected by means of a screw 31 to the bent lever 32, said screw 31 working in a slot 33 of said lever. This lever is pivoted on a pin or stud 34 on the hopper 3, and has connected to it two pawls .P

35 and 36, one on each side of said pivot point. These pawls alternately engage with the teeth of a wheel 37, which is fixed on the shaft of the toothed roller 4. The revolution of the toothed roller'4 also drives the spiked roller 5 by means of the gear wheels 37 and 38, geared together and mounted on the shafts of said rollers. Any other means for driving the breaker or roller could be used that would give the motion hereinbefore described. A. -modified form of this boll breaker or roller is shown in Fig. 4; It consists of a hollow drum 39, preferably made of wooden staves fitted together, as shown, and either veneered with roughened but not corrugated iron, or being roughened on the outside, This roller is mounted in. a casin 40 and over itis the delivery chute 41. bove the roller 39 and a little to one side of it, isanother roller 42, provided with ribs or blunt projections 43. The roller 42'revolves in the opposite direction from the roller 39 and serves to loosen upthe masses of bolls as they are fed to the roller 39, and to prevent crowding thereof, this effect being also produced by the apron 10 in the form shown in Fig. 1.. Around nearly one half of the roller 39 is a curved breast 44, composed of slats placed parallel .to each other and having openings 45 between them, said openings being widest on the outside, as shown in Fig. 4. The slats 46 are'made of wood roughened onthe outby the breaking of the bolls is arrows in Fig. -1,

break this bat and prevent they and a vibratory plate 64 in other words, the ribs 63 and or of wood veneered with roughened iron, and the whole breast is adjustahly mounted on the rod 47, being fixed in its adjusted position by means of a rod 43, which is pivotally attached to the lower end of said breast, which rod works through a perforated bracket 49 and is secured in position by a screw 50. On the outside of the breast is formed a box 51, fitting closely against the back of the slats by means of side,

- leather or rubber straps 52, and in this box is fitted a pipe 53, which is connected to an exhaust fan not shown,this being for the purpose of sucking off the dust' and trash,

as already described in connection with Fig. 1. r

After passing through the breaking apparatus and being delivered downward over the end of the apron 8, as indicated by the the bolls and cotton form a bat, and special devices are needed to the machine from clogging. With ordinary cotton, the bat formed would break of itself, but when mixed with the hulls, special breaking apparatus 1 is necessary. 54 represents a toothed roller and 55 a spiked roller, which revolve toward each other, as indicated by the arrows in Fig. 1, and feed the bat downward through the hopper 56. To break the bat as it passes,I have'provided a roller 57, rovided with twooppositely arranged rows of teeth 58. This roller is revolved by intermittently acting gear mechanism,

and it operates very quickly andthen stops,

thus bre'aking'the batinto pieces, which are operated upon by means hereinafter described. The hopper 56 is carried on a strong framework, parts of which are shown at 59 and 60, and this same framework supports are successively broken ofi', 'drop'into which consists of a casing 61, having an opening 62, through which the cotton drops down, a series of curved ribs 63 on one side of said opening, on the other side of said opening. The plate 64 has attached to it a rod 65,1and a spring 66, surrounding said rod, normally pulls the plate 64 outwardly toward the end of the casing.

Between the ribs 63 operate the saws 67. The'ribs 63 are spaced far enough a art so that the cotton seed, with the cotton a ering thereto, can be easily carried between them; saws 67 act simply to clean the cotton or separate it from the hulls. It has been, found by trial impracticable to gin the cotton by means of the saws 67 and ribs 63', as itis,:too great a tax upon the machine to clean the cotton the separating apparatus,

and gm it at a single operation. The ribs construction and verymuch heavier than the the casing 1. The pieces of the bat, as

ordinary gin saw. The saws 67 have only five teeth to the inch, while the ordinary gin saw has ten or twelve teeth to the inch. The teeth on the saws 67 are therefore very much longer and stronger, and the saws themselves may, if des1red, be made of thicker plates of steel, so that theyare of ample strength to withstand the rough treatment that they encounter in attacking the bat containing the crushed bolls. The teeth on the saws 67 separate the seed cotton from the husks and pull it through the ribs 63.

I have found it necessary to devise special means for getting rid of the boll husks as they are separated from the seed cotton, and near the lower end of the ribs 63 I have provided a spiked roller 68, having inclined spikes thereon, which revolves toward the ribs 63. Thespikes on the roller 68 are inclined and set close together, and this roller feeds the bat of cotton against the ribs 63. The saws 67 separate the seed cotton therein, and the husks rapidly collect in front of the ribs and above the roller 68. I have therefore made special provision for discharging these husks at intervals. I providea roller 69, having on its outer surface three rows of teeth 70, spaced equally distant apart. The normal action of the teeth 70 is to force the broken husks down out of the machine, but the curved plate 64 ordinarily prevents the husks from being caught by the teeth 70. I therefore provide a cam 71 on the shaft of the roller 69, said cam having arecessed portion andbearing against the lower end of the plate 64. The cam 71 is so shaped that for about two-thirdsof each revolution of the roller 69 the plate 64 is held in the position shown in Fig. 1. For about onethird of each revolution, the cam 71 releases the lower part of the plate 64, whereupon the spring 66 pulls said plate backward, allowing the husks to fall freely .and to be caught by. the teeth 70 on the roller 69, thus forcing them out of they machine. The husks and dirt fall into a trough 72, in which is a spiral conveyer 73. A few of the smaller pieces of the husks are carried over by the roller 68 and discharged at the lower end of the ribs 63, but the main port-ion is discharged by the teeth on the roller 69.

The seed cotton is carried along by the saws and is freed therefrom by a drum 7%, having spikes 75 on itsperiphery. This drum 7a revolves considerably faster than the saws 67 and in the opposite direction, thus quickly pulling the cotton off the saws. In the drawing, 1 have shown a series of peculiarly curved ribs 76 between the saws,

which aid in the pulling of the seed cotton 0% the saws, but they are not strictly necessary. drum 7e sweeps the cotton over a coarse screen 7 7 having about three meshes to-the inch, through .ich. the fine trash falls and is carried the conveyer 78.

p as there is not enough of it.

The seed cotton is then carried by the drum 7a up to the chute 79, from whence it is delivered to the mouth 80 of a gin. No means is required for separating the seed cotton from the roller 74, as the spikes 75 on said roller extend radially and the roller revolves at a considerable speed, so that the seed cotton is thrown off by centrifugal force, In some localities, where the amount of snap bolls is comparatively small, it would not pay to feed the seed cotton directly to a gin, In such cases, it may be delivered into a bin until a sulficient quantity has been collected, at least fifteen hundred pounds, and then may be fed to the gin.

The'plate 64 and the parts cotiperating therewith can be applied directly to any huller gin now in use. With the present huller gin, it requires the attention of an attendant to aid in removing the husks, but by this construction the removal is effected automatically. A

The means for driving the parts below the casing 1 will next be described: 81 represents the main driving belt from any suitable source of power. This belt passes over a tightener pulley 82, supported in adjustable bearings on the casing 61, and it also passes over a pulley 83 on the shaft of the drum 74, and over a'larger pulley 84 on the shaft which carries the saws 67, thus causing the drum, as already described, to revolve considerably faster than the saws. On the saw shaft 85 is mounted a pulley 83, over which passes a belt 86, which belt also passes over a pulley 87 on the shaft of the'roller 68. The belt 86 also passes over two tightener pulleys 84: and 85, carried by a lever 88, adjustably supported on a stub shaft 89 and adjusted by means of the rod 90 and the set screw 91. On the shaft carrying the pul: ley 87 is mounted a sprocket pinion 92, and on the shaft of the roller 69 is mounted a sprocket wheel 93, a sprocket chain 94 connecting these two sprocket wheels, so that the roller 69 is driven by the rotation of the roller 68. On the saw shaft 85 is also mounted a small pinion 95, which meshes with a pinion 96, carried on a stub shaft 97, mounted on the casing 61. This stub shaft 97 also carries a small gear pinion 98, meshing with a gear wheel 99 on a stub shaft 100. This gear wheel carries upon it a pinion, which engages one end of the link 101, adjustably secured to a vibratory lever 102 by means of a slot in said lever and a set screw 103. The lever 102 is bent and pivoted on a stub shaft 104 on the hopper 56, and it cartwo pawls 105 and 106, which mesh with a toothed wheel 107 on the shaft of spiked roller 55. On the other of shaft is meunted a gear wheel108,which ies with a gear wheel 109 on the shaft he roller 5%. On one end of the shaft these ribs ribs 63 are and Oklahoma, the saving larger, amounting in many instances to prac- 'tically one-third of the cotton crop. Okla the shaft of this roller is fixed a pinion 114,

having two teeth 115' thereon, oppositely located with respect to each other and arranged to be struck, at intervals, by the teeth 112 of the sprocket chain 111, the result be-' ing that the roller 57 is revolved quickly at intervals just onehalfof a revolution. The

arallel to each other and fastened at their upper ends to a bar 116, attached by hinges such as, 117 to a crosspiece 118 of the casing 61. The lower end of is attached to a bar 119, which bar is adjustably held in the casing by means of screws 120, so that the ribs 63 may be adjusted relatively to the saws 67.

I have actually gone over cotton fields that have been abandoned by farmers who assumed that all the cotton worth savin had been gathered therefrom, and have col ected' from 250 to 350 pounds per acre of snap cotton bolls, which in turn have produced from to 75 pounds per "acre of lint cotton, which is a clear saving. In some localities, such as North Texas, parts of Arkansas is I considerably homa has a rich soil admirably adapted for producing'cotton, but its elevation is hi h and it is therefore more subject to ear y frosts than other localities. Although the climate of Oklahoma is thoroughly adapted for cotton raising, the first frost is apt to come very suddenly, catching a large percentage of the cotton cro which percentage was formerly considere ruined, but which by my process and apparatus is saved.

In cotton picking, it is customary to sep-- arate the cotton from the bolls, and this requires skilled or partly skilled labor. To gather the-snap bolls, however, requires only unskilled labor, so that the saving of the sn'a bolls, hitherto considered useless, is atten ed with comparatively small expense.

In an ordinary seed cotton huller gin, two sets of ribs are provided, the lower one of which is straight and extends a compara- Q tively short distance over the surface of the saws, the object being to separate the bolls from the seed cotton, and the other set of ribs is used for the purpose of separating the fiber from the seed as the saws operate between said ribs. By this construction, however,although the-bolls are to a certain extent gotten rid of, the dirt and trash inevitably mix with the cotton fiber, as there is no chance foriit to escape, rendering a special cleaning operation necessary. 1 By my process and apparatus, however, this separabolls, evenwhen fully open, as a whole without separating the cotton tionis effectually accomplished and the seed cotton isdelivered to the gin perfectly clean. 'By the use of' my apparatus, also, the cotton can be picked therefrom, thus dispensing with the necessity for skilled pickers. In such a case,,the bolls would be fed directly to that part of the apparatus shown at the bottom of 'Fig. 1, and it would not be necessary to run them through the crushershown in the casing 1, I

in which crusher or breaker the snap bolls,

which are tough, are-merely rolled over and the. husks broken, the arrangement being such that the husks are not disintegrated to any great extent. Any kind of a chute or pneumatic 'conv eyer, notvshown, can be applied to the top of the apparatus.

While I have thus described my apparatus, I wish it to bedistinctly understood that I do not limit myself to the exact construction shown and described, as many variations therefrom could'be used, provided that the snap bolls should first go through a breaking or rolling operation to break the husk, a cleaning operation to separate the lighter trash, another cleaning operation to separate the broken boll husks from the seed cotton, and another cleaning process in case any trash is carried along with the med cotton, the cotton being then ginned in the usual way.

i I claimi- .1. In an apparatus of the characterdescribed, the combination of means for rolla bat, means for breaking said bat into parts, and means for separatm the'seed cotton from the husks, substantia y as described.

2. In an apparatus of the character described, the combinationof means for breaking snap bolls by rolling them over between two surfaces, one of which is movable with relation to the other, thereby breaking) the bolls and forming a-bat, means for breaking said bat into parts, means for separating the husks and the seed cotton from said parts, and means for cleaning the seed cotton, substantially as described. A

3. In an ,apparatus of thecharacter described, the combination of means for rolli snap bolls over between relatively movab e surfaces, so as. to break the husks and form a bat, neumatic means for withdrawing the fine ust and trash,.means for break ing the bat into parts, means for'separatin the seed cotton and the husks from said parts, said means including intermittently acting devices for discharging the husks at intervals, and means for cleaning the seed. cotton, substantially as described.

4. In an apparatusof the character de scribed, the combination of means for breaking snap'bolls and forming a bat therefrom, including a traveling apron adapted to carry mg snap-bolls to break the husks'and form apron movably mounted therein, composed slats, the openings between said slats be- 7 'ing largest toward the inside of the apron,

as described.

a suction boxprovided with air excluding flaps fitting up against the under side of said apron and connected with suction devices, a second apron arranged at an angle to said first named apron and adapted to travel in the opposite direction, said aprons being closer together at the discharge end than at the entrance end, and means for adjusting one of said aprons relatively to the other to vary the space between them, substantially 6. In an apparatus of the character described, the combination of means for breaking snap bolls and making a bat'from the broken bolls, and devices for breaking said but intoparts, said devices including constantly revolving toothed rollers, revolving in opposite directions, and between which the bat is drawn, an inteilnittently acting toothed roller, and mechanism for revolving husks to be discharged freely at said roller one-half of a revolution at intervals, substantially as described.

7. In an. apparatus of the character described, the combination of means for separatingthe seed cotton from the bolls, consisting of a spiked roller, a toothed roller, a vibratory plate automatically 0 erated as said toothed roller revolves, al owing the and means for vibrating said plate, substantially as described. 7

8. In an apparatus of the character described, the combination of a casing, a series of ribs adjustably mounted in said casing, said ribs being located parallel to each other and far enough apart to permit seed cotton to pass between them, a series of saws working in the spaces between said ribs, a spiked roller for throwing seed'cotton mixed with boll husks-against said saws and ribs, and intermittentl acting discharge means for the boll hus s as they collect, including a vibratory late and means for operating it, substantial y as described.

9. In. an apparatus of the character described, the combination of means :tor sep-- cot-ton from the husks, devices for arating throwing the material under treatment against said separatin means,- and means for discharging the collected husks at intervals, including a toothed roller and a vibra a. spiked roller for throwing the intervals,

tory plate governed by the movement of said roller, whereby said plate is swung back at intervals to permit the collected husks to be freely discharged, substantially as described.

10.'In an apparatus of the character described, the combination of means for sap arating cotton from the boll husks, devices for throwing the material under treatment against said separating means, and means for discharging, at intervals, the boll husks as they collect, said means including a spiked roller provided with a cam, a vibratory plate in contact with said cam, and spring-open ated devices for holding said plate agalnst said cam, substantially as described.

11. In an apparatus of the character described, the combination of a casing, a series of ribs adjustably mounted in said casing, a series of saws working between said ribs, material under treatment against said saws and ribs,- a vibratory plate pivoted to the casing near its top, spring-operated means normally tending to pull the lower part of said plate toward the casing, and a toothed roller pro- {vided with a cam, bearing against the lower part of said vibratory plate, substantially as described.

12. In an apparatus of the character described,the combination of a casing, a series of parallel ribs adjustably mounted in said casing, a series of saws working between said ribs, a spiked roller for throwing the material under treatment a ainst said saws and ribs, a vibratory plate or allowin the collected husks to be discharged freefy at intervals, means for" vibrating said plate, a device for pulling the cotton oil of said saws, and a screen over which said cotton is can ried by said last named devices, substantially as described.

13. In an apparatus of the character described, the combination of a casing, a series of ribs adjustably mounted in said casing, a series of saws working between said ribs, :1 spiked roller for throwing the material under treatment against said ribs and saws, a vibratory plate, spring-operated means for normally drawing said plate away from said ribs, a toothed roller provided with a cam,

engaging said plate, a spiked drum adapted to withdraw the cotton from said saws, and a screen over which said drum carries said cotton after it has been withdrawn from said saws, substantially as described.

14. In an apparatus of the character described, the combination of a casing, a series of parallel ribs adjustably mounted therein, a series of saws working between said ribs, a s iked roller for throwing the material un er treatment'against said ribs and saws, a vibratory plate arranged opposite to said ribs and saws, spring-pressed means normally operating to draw said plate away from said ribs, a toothed rollerv provided with a cam, engaging one end of said vibra tory plate, separating ribs between which said sawswork, a toothed drum operating throw the mater al under treatment againstsaid ribs and saws, a vibratory plate located opposite to said ribs and saws, springpressed means normally tending to pull said plate away from said ribs and saws, a toothed roller provided with a cam, engaging said plate, a-series of doifin ribs between which said sawswork, a spi ed drum, cooperating with said dofling ribs to remove the cotton from said saws, a screen over which said drum carries said cotton, .and means for operating the revolving parts, said means being so arranged as to operate the spiked dofiing drum faster than the saws, and to operate the spiked roller faster than the toothed delivery roller, substantially as described.

16. In an apparat'us'of the character described, the combination of a casing, arallel ribs mounted therein and separate from each other by spaces lar e enough to permit seed cotton to pass therehetween, saws working in the spaces between said ribs, a spiked roller for throwing the material under treatment against said saws and ribs, means for dofiing the seed cotton from said saws, devices for permitting the discharge of the husks'at intervals, including a toothed roller and a vibratory plate controlled by the acthe husks as they collect, including tion of said roller, devices for feeding a bat, composed of broken bolls and cotton, upon said spiked roller, means for breaking said bat into parts, at intervals, and means for operatin the rotary parts mentioned, said -means eing adapted to operate the spikeddofling drum faster than the saws, the spiked feeding rollerfa'ster than the discharge roller, and for operating the batbreaking means very quickly, at intervals, a half arevolution each time, su stantially as described.

17 In an apparatus ofthe character described, the'combina'tion of means for breaking u snap boll's and forming them'into' a ntermittentlyoperating means for breakin the'batinto parts, means for sepa-. ratingit e seed cotton from the husks in said parts broken from the bat, including a casa series of parallel ribs adjustably therein and separated by spaces large enough to allow seed cotton to pass therebetween, a series of saws working between said ribs, a. spiked roller adapted to throw said material against vsaid saws and ribs, devices for 'dischar 'ng at intervals ing, mounted a vibratory plate, spring-operated roller,

normally tending to draw said plate means away-from said ribs,'said roller being pro-' vided with a cam contacting with each end of said plate, a spiked drum cotton from said saws, and a screen over which said drum sweeps said dofi'ed cotton,

substantially as described.

'In testimony whereof, I afiix "my signa- -ture, in presence of two witnesses.

JAMES A. SHIELDS;

Witnesses:

EDGAR warms, W. Cannon: Larmnn.

a toothed for dofling the 

